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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054799">Transcendence</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkippen/pseuds/captainkippen'>captainkippen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Growing Old Together, Happy Ending</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:34:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,043</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054799</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkippen/pseuds/captainkippen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Julie and Luke don't go looking for the answers, but they find them anyway.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Julie Molina/Luke Patterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>484</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Transcendence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>The Seventeenth</b>
</p><p>On her seventeenth birthday, Julie and Luke stood idle in the living room. The aftermath of the party lay scattered around them in the form of deflating balloons (blown up by Flynn and Reggie), streamers (picked out by Alex), and a variety of half-empty cups and bottles. The rest of the guests had long since left and their friends had abandoned them to play darts in the garage, leaving the two of them leaning close together by the wall and giggling. Luke had spent the better part of the night teasing Julie about her insistence that she didn’t need any presents. In his mind, a birthday wasn’t complete without them. Of course, her family and living friends had bought her a mountain of paper-wrapped gifts which she’d torn through gratefully only hours ago, but she had steadfastly forbidden the boys from getting her anything. Ghosts were exempt from the gift-giving etiquette on account of not having any money.</p><p>“There must be something,” Luke said, leaning closer to her. </p><p>This happened from time to time. They would find themselves alone and so wrapped up in each other they forgot that time did not stand still when they were. At the beginning, they’d been hopeful. However as the years passed, they both found themselves pulling away even as they drifted back together each time.</p><p>“There is one thing I want,” Julie whispered.</p><p>Their lips were so close that she could feel the warmth of his. There was that hollow feeling within her again, echoing through the silence as it cried out to be filled, and she knew it would just take closing that gap to fill it.</p><p>“Anything,” he murmured.</p><p>Tilting her face up she brushed a ghost of a kiss against his lips. It hung in the air between them, mixed up in longing and burning tenderness, but then his breath stuttered and his hands dropped. He pulled back, eyes close and face turned away in regret. </p><p>“We can’t,” he said quietly. </p><p><em> Couldn’t they? </em> Couldn’t they pretend just for one moment that there was more than this? </p><p>“Right,” she agreed, clearing her throat and stepping back.</p><p>It was so unfair. Neither had asked for this… this curse. A lifetime of saying goodbye. Here stood this barrier, invisible to the naked eye but so vast it could be an ocean, built from twenty-five years and a gravestone between them. Luke was exiled to the distance, watching from the sidelines as Julie grew older while he stayed stuck one and the same. And then stood the possibility that one day he wouldn’t be, that they might stumble across that last piece of unfinished business and leave her for good, and she would be alone again. Lost. </p><p>He caught her by the wrist, expression earnest once more.</p><p>“It’s not that I don’t want to, Jules…”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p><em> I love you, </em> she wanted to say. <em> I love you and I will never leave you. </em> </p><p>But Luke would not accept that. They had talked about it once before. In the early hours of a Tuesday morning, as the sun had slipped over the horizon, they had lain side by side on the grass in the yard and talked about the future. The more they talked about it, the more solemn Luke became, until he eventually told Julie she needed to move on from him. They couldn’t have a future, not like this. Not when the rest of the world couldn’t even see him without a guitar in his hands. </p><p>She knew he was right. She hated it, but she knew. Flynn’s words about air had rung in her head as they lay there, a reminder of how much simpler everything had seemed when it all began, and she wondered when her simple admiration of Luke had turned into something so all-consuming. Everything about him made her want to sing, from his laugh to the words he held in his soul. It was the most terrible realisation, knowing the love of her life had already been buried without her. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he said, brushing a stray hair back behind her ear with his gentle touch.</p><p>“I’m not,” she replied, voice fierce with honesty. “You’re here. I’d rather have you like this than not at all. Remember when you said there was no music worth making if you weren’t making it with me? Well, that’s how I feel, Luke. There’s no life worth living if I’m not living it with you.”</p><p> </p><p>One day, Luke knew, Julie was going to meet someone. Someone real, and alive, who could hold her in their arms without risk of fading away. Luke would have to watch because he could not leave her. He would be there in the pews as she walked down the aisle, but he would not be stood at the end waiting for her the way he ached to be able to do. And one day she might have a family, another thing he could not give her, and she would tell her children stories of the boys she used to know. Ghost stories. Nothing more than memories that would fade, just like Luke.</p><p>He would be erased one day. Still there, all those who loved him gone, watching the world go on as it does. Would Alex and Reggie tire of him? They had an eternity together lying ahead of them. That was a long time to be stuck in one existence.</p><p>He lay beside her until she fell asleep that night, taking in every curve and detail of her face. When her breathing evened out he slipped slowly away from the couch and left for the garage. Would he remember it all when she was gone? Or would his memories disappear, too, with time? He hoped not. If he had to, then he would write her name next to his in every song until the end of time just to keep her close. She could forget him, but she would never not hold a piece of his heart. He would be with her forever. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>The Medium</b>
</p><p>Nineteen felt no less confusing than any of the years before, waking alone in Paris gave a new perspective to the morning. Grief, fresh and melancholy, lingered in Julie’s chest. That was the problem with your three soulmates being ghosts. Sometimes you remembered, and you had to mourn all over again for the bodies of some boys you never met alive. It was nonsensical. Insane. But so was life.</p><p>She was not alone long, of course. Sometime between pulling herself out of bed and brushing her teeth, the coffee pot came to life and an immaterial arm stuck itself through the door to knock out a greeting. It was followed shortly by the body it was attached to – a smiling Reggie – and Alex, and Luke, all of whom it appeared had spent the night running up and down the Seine spooking pigeons for fun.  Luke’s face broke into an earth-shattering smile when he saw her, and Julie felt that same pang as always go through her chest.</p><p>“Morning,” he said, hooking his chin over her shoulder and slipping his arms around her waist. </p><p>His warm breath stirred the hair around her ear and she shrugged him off, grinning, wishing the desire to turn in his embrace and let him hold her did not hurt so much. Four years they had spent doing this dance now. Four years of heaven-sent moments and impossible yearning. It was getting worse. Around them, they watched as people lived on. Flynn was seeing a boy she had fallen head over heels for, Carlos had a girlfriend at school, and even Julie’s dad had been sneaking out on dates when he thought the kids wouldn’t notice. Julie had tried. She really had. Luke had teased her – smile never quite meeting his eyes – while Alex had given her reams of dating advice, and Reggie was just happy to point out cute guys she could talk to online, but it never stuck. No one was right. They were all missing something, and, of course, that something was ‘being Luke’. It tore at her. Nobody had ever warned her that being in love would break her heart quite so often.</p><p>At least, she comforted herself, her feelings had resulted in a lot of good lyrics. Without them, the band wouldn’t be on a European tour.</p><p>Paris was a godsend right then. Since she first boarded the plane at the beginning of the summer there had been little to no peace. It had been one stop after another, show after show, with very few breaks in between, but here they had three whole days to themselves where they didn’t have to do anything. She would have to thank their tour manager for the scheduling. </p><p>It was during this time that Julie found the medium. Wandering through the streets of the city, lost in thought, she almost missed the tiny shop front tucked away between two houses. Reggie, who had been busy taking in everything he could, was the one to point it out. The sign outside read <em> ‘Madame Bellerose’ </em> in whimsical golden letters, followed by a peeling sign stating in both French and English <em> ‘Services in palmistry, tarot reading, and seance.’ </em> Several minutes of begging from all three boys and a shared look of glee later, she was walking in. Far from the first time she had been goaded into such a situation, Julie found herself faced with yet another self-proclaimed psychic. In the last couple of years, the boys had made it their mission to seek out all those who claimed to see ghosts. None so far had been successful. </p><p>That might have been why Madame Bellerose caught them off guard.</p><p>A tinkling bell sounded as Julie pushed her way through the door. The shop was brightly lit and colourful, the opposite of every other ‘psychic’ shop they’d visited, and she was greeted by a cheerful young woman wearing large glasses. </p><p>“Come in, darlings,” she said in a heavy accent. “Make yourselves at home.”</p><p>This struck Julie as odd, considering the boys were still invisible to other living people unless playing with her. On occasion, they could show themselves, a power that grew stronger the longer they spent practising, but it drained them of energy and had once had the worrying effect of making Alex flicker light a lightbulb going out. They’d made a rule not to do it too often after that. They certainly weren’t trying it in a small shop in Paris.</p><p>Madame Bellerose ushered Julie into a puffy little armchair, drawing up three more in a small semi-circle around her own, then busied herself with making a pot of tea while they all stared at her in amazement. </p><p>“Ah,” she said when she caught the look on Julie’s face. “Not much experience with those who can sense your fellow spirits, hm?”</p><p>“Can she see us?” Alex asked, eyes wide.</p><p>Reggie came to a halt in front of her, waving his arms like a lunatic, but the woman did not so much as flinch. He turned to the others and shrugged. Luke was busy staring around at the shop, taking it all in.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Julie said, accepting the tea without hesitation. She was too taken aback by the strange turn of events to do much but clutch the cup tight in both hands.</p><p>“The three spirits which follow you,” Madame Bellerose said. “Three boys. You are aware of them, no?”</p><p>“No, I mean yes, but how can you–”</p><p>“There are mysteries in my life left unsolved,” the medium replied, rather infuriatingly. “And as a result, I ‘ave always been able to sense those who are lingering. Sometimes it is a gift. You have it also, yes?”</p><p>“Um, I don’t know.”</p><p>Madame Bellerose raised her eyebrows and took a long sip of her tea. Julie tripped over herself, continuing. </p><p>“I can see them,” she confessed. “But I’m the only one unless we’re playing music together, then everyone can. Or sometimes when they try really hard they can become visible, but we don’t know why…”</p><p>“Unusual,” the woman said, but she did not look shocked or concerned, merely thoughtful. “I ‘ave never come across such a situation. They must have unfinished business with you. Did you know them before?”</p><p>Julie shook her head.</p><p>“They died before I was born.”</p><p>It was all so strange. The plan for the day had been to explore the city and get lunch at a bakery. She had not expected to find herself sitting in a strange woman’s shop talking about the ghosts that followed her around day to day. The boys looked just as perturbed as she felt.</p><p>“Hm… well, destiny can be like that,” Madame Bellerose hummed. “The links between souls transcend space and time. It may be that their journey is intertwined with yours.”</p><p>“You think their unfinished business is something to do with me?”</p><p>The woman shrugged. </p><p>“Who are we to question the ways of the universe?”</p><p>Who indeed?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>The Knowing</b>
</p><p>It did not happen straight away, the understanding. In fact, it took them a couple more years. By the time Julie turned nineteen she had given up on living a normal life (not that she would tell Luke that) and had resigned to spending the rest of her days as the eccentric little frontwoman who talked to thin air and played live music with a hologram band. Madame Bellerose’s words had stuck with her since that day in Paris. Destiny was a fickle thing. It came with no rulebook or explanations. There was no logic to which the way it worked could be applied. It simply existed as it was; mysterious and impossible. Julie could accept that, even if sometimes it frustrated her so much she prayed that God would give her just a little bit of clarity with regards to the whole ghosts-lingering-and-souls-passing-on thing.</p><p>Luke, too, had given up on pretending (not that he would tell Julie that) and had resigned himself to taking two steps forward with her and then ten steps back. His self-control was limited, and by her birthday they had kissed not just once but enough times to fill the pages of a book. She tasted like life and freedom. When he held her, when he brushed her hair back from her face and touched her skin, he felt whole. Alive, even.</p><p>It was Willie who woke him up the first time. Mingled with the words of Madame Bellerose which had haunted him since that first tour in Paris.</p><p>"Did you know a lot of ghosts can't leave the place they died?” he’d said. “A lot of us are tied to cities or towns, or, y’know, buildings. You guys though... you're tied to her."</p><p>It was then that the thought had struck Luke. They had been given a second chance, not just with music but with life, and it all came down to Julie. It felt as though he had loved her since the moment he'd opened his eyes, that the years before they met had just been a simple matter of waiting. All of space and time hadn't been able to stop them from coming together because loving Julie was like learning to breathe again. </p><p>And so he’d kissed her. Again, and again, and again. It was perfect. She was everything.</p><p>But it hurt too, knowing what he was doing. He could not help the guilt and shame that washed up beneath his chest every time he ran a finger down her face, the nagging worry that he was depriving her of a chance to live a normal life. To exist freely without questions. To have someone to grow old with. </p><p>They would have to end it eventually, he thought. It would be weird – a grown woman with a seventeen-year-old ghost. Julie deserved normality.</p><p>And then, by some miracle, they were granted a single strange mercy.</p><p> </p><p>Julie woke one morning, curled up under her comforter, and burrowed her face into Luke’s shoulder. He was staying solid more and more often when they were together now, the light-bulb flickering not such a problem even when he wasn’t concentrating. It wasn’t exactly as though he was human – definitely not, after all, nobody else could really see him unless he really put the effort in (and this was only after Caleb had reluctantly agreed to train the boys in doing so properly) – but he was <em> there</em>. </p><p>“Morning,” she murmured, smiling as she pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.</p><p>Then she stilled.</p><p>“Luke…”</p><p>He raised his head sleepily, alarmed by the gasp, but she stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>There, clear as day and illuminated by the sunrise streaming in through the window, lay a single grey hair within the mop of brown locks. It was stark, shining and obvious like a beacon. Never, not once in the many times that Julie had run her hands through his hair, had she seen anything like it.</p><p>They stared at one another. Understanding dawned like a lightning bolt. Though they had spent years wrapped up in one another, they had yet to span a full-half decade, so they could both be forgiven for not noticing the changes. The laugh-lines as they slowly etched themselves into Luke’s face over time, the edge of his jaw growing a little sharper, the aging. It was a quiet process. Missable until now.</p><p>“The links between souls transcend space and time. It may be that their journey is intertwined with yours,” Madame Bellerose had once said and, for the first time, they both understood what that meant. </p><p> </p><p>He was not alive, nor were Reggie or Alex, but no longer did they have to stand stuck with that barrier between them. Four souls connected, linked by an unknowable destiny and the sheer adoration of <em>music, </em>destined to grow old together and change the world with their songs. It wasn’t normal, and it was by no definition a conventional way of being, but it worked for them. After all, who were they to question the way of the universe? Especially when it had brought them to the places they needed to be. Soulmates, without question, forever after.</p>
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